An Equitable Agreement

I'm pretty sure I haven't shared enough organ and chime records with you this season.  So here's a little 10 incher that was no doubt given away to insurance customers at some point in the fifties or sixties.  At one time, chimes were all the rage, if the number of these records I see in the thrift shops are any indication.  And that probably goes a long way towards explaining why someone invented rock and roll.  Anyways...this is The Equitable Chimes-The Equitable Chimes Play Ten Of The World's Best Loved Christmas Carols (Equitable Life Insurance Company Of Iowa 10" 33 RPM CTV-84282/84283, Mono).  Just pretend like you enjoy it, OK?

1. O Holy Night
2. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. The First Noel
5. Joy To The World
6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
7. Away In A Manger
8. O Come All Ye Faithful
9. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
10. Silent Night

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2009 Redux, Part 1

Ever onward!  I thought it was going to take forever to load the 2009 Christmas in July reshares to MediaFire, but they're finally done.  Here's the first of five parts, and they are big shares!  But you'll have more Christmas music than you can shake a stick at once you've downloaded them.  Merry Week Before Christmas!

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Sing With Bing

A real treat for you tonight, something I'm pretty sure you've never seen before.  If there's anyone who's every Christmas-related utterance has been re-issued to death, it would be Bing Crosby.  You hear his voice every year at Christmas, even if you don't hear it at any other point the whole year 'round.  But you've never heard this little record!  I recorded this last year but never got the chance to share it, so I need to go back and refresh my memory a little bit...  Ah, yes, this is actually a double album.  Record one is a pair of radio shows featuring Bing in the studio, talking to you about the Army and Christmas between songs, most of which are pulled from his then-current Christmas album, A Time To Be Jolly.  That album has been unfairly overlooked by time, but like most of Crosby's Christmas cannon, it's available from Amazon.  But that's not why you want to hear this record, you want to hear Bing talk to you.  The second record is the usual Army Chorus and Army Band stuff that you find on any number of records released by the US Army recruitment folks through the years.  It's nice stuff, but nothing great.  The Bing, on the other hand, is priceless.  Grab this one while you can, I don't know if the RIAA will let me share it for long.  This is A Bing Crosby Christmas For Today's Army/The Sounds Of Christmas With The United States Army Band And Soldiers Chorus (US Army Recruiter 2xLP, Stereo, 1973).

1. Intro
2. And The Bells Rang
3. Segment 1
4. Christmas Is Here To Stay
5. Segment 2
6. Christmas Is
7. Segment 3
8. White Christmas
9. A Time To Be Jolly
10. Segment 4
11. I Sing Noel
12. Segment 5
13. Round And Round The Christmas Tree
14. Segment 6
15. The Song Of Christmas
16. Segment 7
17. White Christmas
18. Jingle Bells
19. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
20. Winter Wonderland
21. O Tannenbaum
22. The Three Holy Kings
23. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
24. Stable Down The Road
25. Medley: White Christmas; The Christmas Song
26. Some Children See Him
27. Medley: Noel

Tracks 1-17 by Bing Crosby, 18-27 by The United States Army Band & Chorus with various soloists.  Full details in the track tags.

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Is this the first double LP I've shared here at the blog?  I've shared plenty of gatefolds, but never an actual double album, unless I'm forgetting about something.

2008 Redux, Part 5

The fifth and final part of my reshare of Christmas in July from 2008, including a day of Chanukah in August!  How special is that?  Get it while the gettin's good.

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Really Old Ray, Continued

Covering much of the same ground as the other share from Ray Charles (no, the other Ray Charles) that I just posted, this LP is a little more geared towards the Winter season instead of just Christmas.  In fact, it's part of a series for the seasons, one record for each.  There's even a sort of best-of I've seen, featuring a few tracks from each of the four LPs.  Anything to squeeze a few more dollars out of the record buying public, I guess.  I actually had a copy of this LP up on the turntable earlier this year in hopes of getting a remastered version to you this season, but the copy I had in front of me sounded pretty crummy, so I didn't see much point in giving you that.  Hopefully I'll stumble across a better copy sometime in the coming year and be able to record that one.  In the meantime, enjoy this one, a record that I've been touting the virtues of since 2005, The Ray Charles Singers-Winter Wonderland (MGM E3387, Mono, 1956).

1. Winter Wonderland
2. Button Up Your Overcoat
3. June In January
4. When Winter Comes
5. Snowfall
6. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
7. Winter & Theme For Indoor Sports
8. Moonlight In Vermont
9. Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow
10. When Winter Comes A Callin'
11. Jingle Bells
12. By The Fireside

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Someday I need to rip all four albums in this series...  I think I have them all, but laying my hands on them might be a problem.  I need an intern!

Really Old Ray

Something else from the request lines, this is a great Christmas album from the other Ray Charles, one that I've been sharing with you since 2005.  It's good stuff, but this rip is badly in need of a remaster.  Maybe next year...  Anyhow, if you can't wait until then, and it's certainly worth hearing as-is, this is The Ray Charles Singers-Here We Come A-Caroling (MGM E3467, Mono, 1956).

1. Here We Come A Caroling
2. Silent Night
3. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
4. The First Noel
5. O, Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
6. Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child
7. Angels We Have Heard On High
8. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
9. I Saw Three Ships
10. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
11. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle
12. Away In A Manger
13. Good King Wenceslas
14. O, Little Town Of Bethlehem
15. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
16. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
17. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
18. Rise Up, Shepherd, An' Foller
19. Joy To The World
20. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
21. Here We Come A Caroling

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2008 Redux, Part 4

The fourth and not final part of my resharing of the music from Christmas in July 2008.  For those who haven't been keeping up, I share out Christmas music from non-holiday albums during July around these parts.  This is a collection of all the stuff I shared out back during July of 2008, not the best of, but all of, so you get the good stuff and the stinkers.  Sometimes, the stinkers are the best part, but that's just my opinion.  One more package to go after this one, and the earlier ones are in the history somewhere, go hunt 'em down.

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Christmas Hole

I was in NYC back during September, and I took a picture of the spot where they put the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. It looks to be a casting with the date of the next lighting on it. That can't be cheap. I wonder who gets to keep that little memento when it's replaced for the next year?  I'll take it, send it to me!

Ski 5

Last of the ski albums, I promise. Well, I've actually got one more, the only other one I know of, but it's available on CD, so you aren't gonna get it here.  Anyhow, this is one of the better ones I've shared because it's one of the more well-known and talented artists.  Oscar Brand must have recorded 100 albums, and some of them are thrift store staples.  But some of them, like this one, are fairly hard to find, so I was excited when it turned up earlier this year.  It was even in nice shape, so I think I got some good sounding music out of it.  Oh, before I forget, some of the songs on here were written by Ray Conrad, who's ski-themed LP I reshared earlier this evening.  OK, I'm tired of posting and chatting for the night, so without further ado, this is Oscar Brand and The Ski Bums-A Snow Job For Skiers-Ribald Songs For The Stretch Pants Set (Elektra EKS-7228, Stereo, 1962).  Classic cover shot on this one, too.

1. Why The Hell Do We Ski
2. Skier's Proposition
3. Ski Racks And Boot Sacks
4. Old Ski Tow
5. Ballad Of The Snow Bunny
6. Ski Instructor
7. Back To Town
8. Come Along Boys
9. Roll Your Leg Over
10. Summit Ski Meet
11. Hills Of West Virginia
12. Stretch Pants Lament
13. Skier's Daydream

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Ski 4

You knew I was building to something, right?  Why else would I post 1, 2, 3 old shares that didn't have much to do with Christmas right in the middle of the Christmas Sharity season?  Anyhow, I'm building to this little gem of an album, featuring famous people that you know but have never heard of.  The Wegeman Brothers were Olympic skiers from a skiing family, though they do not appear to have ever brought home the gold.  More to the point, Keith Wegeman (don't ask me which one he is in the cover picture, 'cause I'm not sure) performed as the Jolly Green Giant in early TV commercials!  I don't think it was him going Ho, Ho, Ho (sound like anyone you know?), but it was him you saw in the background, all green with envy, err, I mean chlorophyll.  So there you have it.  This is really a pretty good LP, I think you'll enjoy it.  It's got a couple of Christmas tracks on there, and they're more than worthy of your time.  So get busy and download Gentlemen Skiers-Ski Songs By The Wegeman Brothers (Raynote RN5008, Mono, 1959).  Oh, the 'orchestra', such as it is, is credited to Ray Whitaker, and there's a guitar credit to Billy Strange.

1. Winter Wonderland
2. Two Boards
3. Wacky Waxer
4. Oola
5. Here's To The Skier
6. Sven
7. Skiers Medley
8. Skiers Lament
9. Under The Take-Off
10. Sun Valley
11. Winter Song
12. Ski Heil

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Ski 3

Have I not reposted this since it first showed up in 2008?  Doesn't appear so.  Also appears that one of the songs skips, so I probably need to find it and see if I can do a better job with three more years of experience under my belt.  But it'll have to do for tonight.  Pretty good stuff on this one, especially if you liked the previous two ski albums.  This is The Blazers & The Yodelin' Guides-Track! Songs Of The Skiers (Kapp 1218, Mono, 1960).

1. Ski Trails
2. Winter Song
3. There's A Tavern In The Town-Vive La Compagnie
4. S.B.B. (The Swiss Railroad Song)
5. She'll Be Skiing Down The Mountain-The Man On The New Pair Of Skiis-Wham! Went The Skier
6. The Happy Wanderer
7. Hop-Sah-Sah
8. Ski, Ski, Ski
9. We're The Gang-Give A Cheer
10. The Weggis Song (This track skips at one point. Sorry...)
11. Beer Barrel Polka
12. It Happened In Sun Valley

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Ski 2

Another in tonight's recap of some old skiing music shares.  This, to me, is a much better album than that last one.  This one is funny and less 70's-ish, if you get my drift.  But it take different strokes to move the world (yes it does).  Even if it's just for the cover, you need to download Ray Conrad-The Cotton-Pickin' Lift Tower And Other Skiing Songs (Prestige International INT 13039, Mono, 1963 perhaps). This one is much better than that previous one.

1. Round-Bottomed Bogners
2. The Cotton-Pickin' Lift Tower
3. Skiing Billy (Duet With Rosalie Sorrels)
4. In The Mountains Near Alta
5. Two Cubes With A Slug Of V.O.
6. The Ski Instructor
7. The Mineshaft Song
8. The Last Ride
9. Skier's Bible School (Duet With Rosalie Sorrels)
10. Stretch Pants Lament
11. An Ounce Of Prevention
12. The Skier's Daydream

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Ski 1

Perhaps it's time I brought back a few of these old ski-related albums. Not much Christmas-related stuff on this one, but some of them do have some holiday stuff on there.  And I don't think too many people would complain if you dropped a track about snow into your holiday mix.  This one dates back to 2006 here on the blog, I used to share it out the day before Thanksgiving, just as a lead-in to the big holiday sharity shindig.  If you missed it back then, then please help yourself to Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (National Ski Patrol NSP-1001, Stereo).

1. Takin' A Ride With The Wind
2. Snowbird
3. A Reason For Winter
4. Wrong Mountain Blues
5. Let It Shine
6. A Nice Place To Live
7. Chumley's Bus
8. Nobody In The Canyon
9. Country Mountain Shakedown
10. Vanishing Skyline

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2008 Redux, Part 3

Long day today, long drive, too tired.  Christmas music.  Christmas in July from 2008.  Part 3.  Enjoy.

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Christmas In Tijuana

And now for something a little bit different.  I've seen a lot of different Christmas LPs that claim to have that Tijuana sound, but I'd never seen this one before.  I didn't see it shared out anywhere, either, although I think I found the same tunes with a different cover, so it's not entirely new, but it's close.  What better place to get your Tijuana Christmas tunes than from the Canadian Arc label, the same folks who brought you last year's great Christmas record set in a pub?  I don't think this one is that good, but it makes for a nice change-up on the old iPod.  This is Tijuana Style-Christmas Carols (Arc AC 34, Stereo).  I have no idea who actually is performing here, but since they put "Christmas Carols" in quotes on the label below, and not Tijuana Style, I'm thinking they're telling me that's the band name.  Sound good?  Better than nothing, I guess.  Go get it!

1. The Holly And The Ivy
2. Silent Night
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4. While Shepherds Watched
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Good King Wenceslas
7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
8. Away In A Manger
9. The First Nowell
10. Christians Awake
11. Once In Royal David's City
12. O Come All Ye Faithful

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Return Of The Harp

Long a favorite around here, or at least a favorite once I got my hands on a stereo copy, I finally decided to remaster this classic LP from Bianco.  This cover looks a little the worse for wear, but I think you'll find the music to be quite nice.  Bianco was one of the folks who popularized the harp as a lead instrument back in the late fifties and early sixties, along with Robert Maxwell and others.  This great Christmas record showcases some of his smoothest recordings, setting a great mood for your Christmas time.  Go ahead, download it, you know you want to.  This is The Rainbow Sound Of Bianco, His Harp And Orchestra-Joy To The World-Everybody's Favorite Christmas Music (RCA Victor Club Record CSP-104, Stereo, 1962), new and improved for 2011!


1. Medley: We Wish You A Merry Christmas Silent Night
2. White Christmas
3. Jingle Bells
4. O Holy Night
5. Medley: Away In A Manger; The First Noel
6. Medley: Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful); Joy To The World
7. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
8. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
9. Silver Bells
10. Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Deck The halls
11. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
12. Medley: Sleigh Ride; We Wish You A Merry Christmas


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2008 Redux, Part 2

Time for the second part of my 2008 rehash, making available the items I shared with you back during Christmas in July 2008.  Not too much I can say about it that I haven't already said, so I'll give you the link without a whole lot of yak.

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Old Mann

Here's another ancient share, from way back in 2005 (well, the mono copy was in 2005, I think I first shared the stereo version in 2006).  Budget label, budget sounds, but some folks seem to like that sort of thing.  This is Sy Mann At The Wurlitzer-Everybody's Christmas Favorites-Organ & Chimes (Palace STXM-901, Stereo).

1. White Christmas
2. Adeste Fideles
3. Silent Night
4. Joy To The World
5. Away In A Manger
6. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
7. Jingle Bells
8. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10. Noel
11. Deck The Hall
12. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
13. Good King Wenceslas

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18 Big Ones!

How can you resist the lure of 18 Christmas songs, as sung by stars of radio and television?  You're not a machine!  You can't pass this up! I recorded this nicely-covered LP in response to a post from my blogger friend Lee (over at Music You Won't) last year.  He'd purchased a set of two EPs by this same title comprising 2/3 of the 18 titles.  I wanted to help him complete the set so I dug this out of my archives and recorded it.  But it turns out that the songs on here aren't an exact match to the ones on the records he has.  Mine is all the same old boring Christmas songs while his set includes some new, exciting titles like Poppy The Puppy and All Around The Christmas Tree.  So I don't think this set isn't going to help him one bit.  But you might enjoy it.  Please download Vocals And Orchestra By Popular Radio And Television Artists-18 Christmas Songs (Broadway BR-1028, Mono).

1. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
2. Joy To The World
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. Deck The Halls With Holly
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6. Jingle Bells
7. Shepherds' Carol
8. Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella
9. White Christmas
10. Silent Night
11. O' Come All Ye Faithful
12. The First Noel
13. O' Little Town Of Bethlehem
14. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
15. O Holy Night
16. Away In A Manger
17. Auld Lang Syne
18. O Tannenbaum

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Return Of The Avon Lady

Someone requested the return of this old Avon share, so here it is.  It's been a long time since I've given it any thought, although it has been reshared more than once since it's debut here back in 2005.  I hope you enjoy it.  This is Avon Campaign 21 (Avon 10" 33 RPM, Mono, 1968).

1. Christmas Kickoff
2. Jingle Bells
3. Silent Night
4. Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies

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The Montreal Express

I'm not a betting man, but I'm willing to wager that 99.9% of you have never heard this little winter song.  It appears to be a promo item for BostonGas, touting the benefits of switching to gas heat.  And why do you need gas heat?  To fight off the cold chill of The Montreal Express, a weather system that seems to have been blamed for all of Boston's cold weather.  Those of you from Beantown will enjoy the sites they namecheck in this song.  The rest of us will just nod knowingly and ignore you.  It's a neat little record, with music pressed on only one side but a neat checkerboard pattern in the blank grooves on the flip.  Lemme know what you think of Al Sears And His Countrymen-The Montreal Express (Blue Flame Records 1-Sided 7" 45 RPM, Stereo).

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2008 Redux, Part 1

We're making progress here.  I've shared out all of the Christmas in July stuff from 2006 & 2007, so now I can move on to 2008.  That's a ton of Christmas music already, and even more still to come.  I had to break 2008 up into five sections, it was that big!  So here's the first few days, the first eight, I think.

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